


The Queen Of The North

by DigitalThespian



Category: One Step From Eden (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Contest Entry, Disturbing Themes, Gen, Internal Monologue, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:48:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalThespian/pseuds/DigitalThespian
Summary: The north is a vast, empty place. It has its benefits, but one must appreciate what they can when the opportunity presents itself. Else, there is but one thing one can do to pass the time.Think.





	The Queen Of The North

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the One Step From Eden short story contest; I had the idea after reading a development snippet graciously shared by EdenDev, and this is the result! It's a little flowery, and rough around the edges, but I know if I try to refine it it'll end up way too long. I was shooting for 1k and got a little under 2, so I know better than to think I could keep it under 3 if I go back and revise it.
> 
> As for content warnings, there's nothing actually graphically _described_ , but there's some disturbing imagery that results from context.

Some things were simple. Some things weren't.

Humans? Humans weren't simple, they were hectic, and confusing, and they always _wanted_ something. It was hard to get a moment's peace, it seemed.

Snow, on the other hand.. snow was simple. Every snowflake was different, yes, but they all followed a certain set of _rules_. She could respect that. Always hexagonal; always fractal. Consistency within inconsistency.

Humans, they would say one thing and mean another, would say they would, and then wouldn't. They couldn't be trusted to keep their word. No; humans couldn't be trusted _at all_.

Well.. They could be trusted in _one_ way. There _was_ one thing she could always count on them to do, when all was said and done.

_Bleed_.

* * *

She nudged the body in front of her with one ratty sneaker, waiting a moment.

..Guess they were dead.

It was strange, thinking of what sort of life a corpse could have had before. Were they kind? Mean? Loud? Rude? Did they dress they way they did because they liked it, or because they had to?

She didn't wear anything that didn't serve a _purpose_. She didn't mind the cold, but she'd found very early in her time in this world that her body wanted to return to its default state; so she wore a hoodie and thick leggings to trap her body heat, and her body responded by graciously providing her with more magic to make up the difference in temperature.

She stood, having finished rifling through the corpse's former belongings, and looked down at a silver pendant with a pair of letters engraved on it, along with a heart.

..And then, sometimes, she found things like this; things that _really_ told a story, if you cared enough to look for it.

The pendant landed in the snow, tossed carelessly over a shoulder as she walked away.

_If_.

* * *

The vast expanse of tundra stretched out before her, and she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

She might be able to go _weeks_ without seeing a single human being out here. She hopped off the ledge, a curved ramp of ice coalescing beneath her feet. She slid down almost without thinking; her magic had always been second nature to her. It leveled off at the bottom, and she shifted her weight back, turning to the side to disperse her momentum into the snow. She began to walk, hands in her pockets, leaving behind the long scar on the otherwise featureless landscape.

It would heal. Nature was like that. It didn't matter what you did.. in twenty, fifty, a hundred years? It would be like it never happened. Like you never did anything at all. Like you never _existed_ , as Nature consumed even your very _bones_ in the wake of your passing.

Her smile grew just a little bit wider. Humans loved to think they were so _important_ , so _crucial_. To think their actions _meant_ something, that they somehow made a difference. As though something that lived to be a mere century old could effect change on something that had existed for _eons_. The life of a human was but a fraction of the life of this world. An inconsequential variation in the inexorable march of time, hardly even noticeable, so small that it might as well have never been, for all the world would notice.

Why should the world care? What difference did it make to Nature if humans could write, or think? They existed here, and then they were gone. Just like any other animal or plant. What separated humans from the others?

_Nothing_.

* * *

A few chips of ice fell from the ledge, falling to the mountainside far, far below with a faint crackle that was only audible as it was carried back up by the howling wind. She kicked her feet idly as she watched a white, cloudy mass on the horizon. It moved slowly—even _serenely—_ from this vantage point, but she knew the truth of things.

There was nothing serene about a blizzard. Even from here, she knew that the cutting, frozen wind blowing up the mountainside came from that very storm. It was an unstoppable force, hellbent on covering the land in snow so thick you could suffocate to death under it—if the cold didn't get you first.

Not that she had to worry about that.

Her gaze flicked over to a darker shape on the horizon; an outpost that had been set up a short while ago, and that had grown into a small town, and then into a large one.

She wasn't surprised.

Rapid expansion was a hallmark of the human race; along with suicidal confidence, and the sheer dumb luck to pull them through anyway. She sat for a long while, simply watching the storm creep closer and closer to the city.

Perhaps she should visit, after the storm had passed. There were always such interesting snowdrifts in cities, the wind swirling and eddying in streets and alleys, leaving spirals and hollows and patterns that she seldom saw anywhere else.

She smiled faintly. Even the _wind_ could be trusted to be consistent, even if it _did_ have to work around what had been built in its way. She decided she _would_ visit; the drifts were beautiful, and she always found such interesting things strewn about, lost and buried by the awesome fury of the storm.

She was getting a little bored of the mountain anyway. She hadn't been here _too_ terribly long, and it _had_ been fun watching humanity hard at work, running around in the distance—rather like a colony of ants, now that she thought about it, given how small they looked. That being said..

She didn't think that state of affairs would last very much longer.

She slipped from the ledge, free-falling a moment before catching herself with yet another ramp, streaking down the mountain at frightening speeds. The city was a fair distance away, the storm would have moved on by the time she had arrived. Just in time to survey the damage, to see the might of Winter up close and in person.

Her and Winter had always gotten along. It was to be expected, really; she had ice in her veins, after all, and she was nothing to be trifled with. Humanity at large, on the other hand..

Her lip curled in disgust, just for a moment.

_Pathetic_.

* * *

It was as she had anticipated; the city had been utterly consumed by the howling winds and driving snow. Winter did not know mercy, nor remorse. It was comforting to her, in a way. It wasn't _for_ Winter to decide if the victims were hardy enough to endure. There was no favoritism; one simply froze, or they didn't. She looked around at the utterly still town.

It was clear which category was applicable here.

She strolled through the empty streets, peeking in through the shattered remains of shop windows, looking under abandoned carts. There wasn't much to see, to her chagrin. Some various sundry goods, yes, but the most interesting thing she had seen so far was a snowdrift that had curled around itself, forming a sharp-edged spiral with a hollow in the center.

It _was_ a very lovely snowdrift. She had even elected to leave it intact, rather than investigate the hunched corpse at its center. It was important to appreciate what the world had to offer, and not senselessly destroy it; there wasn't much chance the corpse would have something interesting anyway.

Children seldom did.

She turned into an alley and wandered on, though she was beginning to reach the conclusion that she might be wasting her time if she continued doing so.

"..w-wait.." She halted upon hearing the voice.

..it would seem she had been hasty in her assumption. What was that saying again? 'Making an ass out of you and me?'

She turned to the source, huddled in the bowels of the most interesting formation yet; it was a hollow dome of sorts, covered in a sheet of ice, almost like an igloo—and just as thick, too. There was a hole on the side near the wall of the alley, from which the voice had emanated. Presumably the alley had kept it from accumulating there, but what about the rest? Had it been kept at bay by a particularly unique air current, or..?

She supposed she would find out. She approached, smiling to herself. It was looking like coming here was a worthwhile venture after all. The voice spoke again as she got close. "..p-p-please, you h-have to help me.." She could hear the sound of chattering teeth layered beneath the trembling words. "..I m-managed t-to hole up here b-by hiding under a s-shield.. b-but the outside is f-frozen solid and I c-can't break out, I'm t-trapped! P-Please, you have to get me out of here! I d-don't wanna d-die!"

"I was unaware you had the authority to _make_ me do anything. What do I get out of this?" She scoffed. "You get out, what then? You're the only survivor I've seen. You'll freeze to death out just the same as in. Do you expect me to cart you all the way to the nearest town, three _days_ away?"

"..n-no, p-please, don't let me die here, I'll do anything..!"

She quirked an eyebrow at this. "Oh? Anything?" She thought a moment. "..how about you give me your name, and I'll think it over a bit more."

"R-Reva," There was a whimper. "..p-please, I can't die like _this_.."

"Mmm; _Reva_." Her eyes flashed, and she nodded approvingly. "That's not one I've been given before. I like it."

"S-S-So you'll help me..?"

"Upon further consideration, yes. I accept the terms of your deal." Her eyes flashed again, and she chuckled quietly. "I will get you out, yes."

"Thank the _heavens_.. I feared I would never be seen again.."

"Hmm? Oh, you won't be." She leaned in, finally breaking into a wide grin. She could see her reflection in wide, fearful eyes. "You said you would do anything if I saved you from dying here. I've been looking for a worthy retainer for a while, now.. Few humans can survive the worst Winter has to offer. You won't be returning to your people," She reached out, icy fingers brushing a near-frostbitten cheek, a pale blue pallor spreading slowly outwards from her touch. "No.. you'll make a fine addition to my court."

"Y-Y-You're—you're—" There was a pause, and her knight spoke again with a clear, steady voice, having been completely consumed by the changes she had wrought. "..You're the Queen of the Northern Court.."

Her knight bowed deferentially, and she smiled. "Very good." She raised a hand, snapping her fingers. With a rush of wind, the makeshift shelter-turned-tomb dissolved into powder snow, swept away in an instant. She turned her hand palm up, lifting it an inch more as she spoke. "Rise."

Her knight obeyed, retrieving the shield that had served as both protector and jailer. "Thank you, Your Majesty." There was flicker of concern. "..why do I not remember my name?"

"You gave it to me, remember? Besides.. You have no more need of it anyway. You are my retainer, now; my knight. Such an association is a far greater honor, intriguing as the name you have given me may be."

"I am glad the name pleases you, my Queen."

"And I am glad you seem to understand what an honor it is to be allowed to stay by my side."

"No one who lives in the north is ignorant of Father Winter and Queen S—" Her knight bowed deeply. "I apologize, to presume to speak your name.."

"I will allow it, provided you exercise the proper reverence."

Her knight's eyes widened, and there was a long silence.

" _Selicy_."


End file.
